A Study of Damage in Curved Composite Panels

by B. Wilder, US Air Force Inst of Technology, United States,
A. Palazotto, US Air Force Inst of Technology, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space

Abstract:

Composite laminates subjected to a low speed impact, such as a dropped tool or a manufacturing load, often develop an internal delamination. This research studied the effects of a circular delamination on the strength of an eight ply, quasi-isotropic composite laminate. Panels were loaded with a compressive load, and the global buckling strength of the panel and the local buckling strength of the delaminated plies were examined. It was found that, for the level of delamination damage investigated, a linear STAGSC-1 finite element code gave very accurate predictions of global panel strength. Load values which caused local instabilities in the region of panel damage were also recorded.

Subject Headings: Composite materials | Laminated materials | Delaminating | Compressive strength | Panels (structural) | Impact loads | Finite element method

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